By Susan Redden

sredden@joplinglobe.com

CARTHAGE, Mo. - A closed-door meeting with a representative from the Missouri attorney general's office might signal the end of a city lawsuit against Renewable Environmental Solutions, but Carthage officials weren't confirming that on Wednesday.

City Council members on Tuesday discussed the city lawsuit against the company with attorney Bill Bryan, who asked the panel to decide whether the city will go to trial with the public-nuisance lawsuit the state and city filed more than a year ago.

Bryan then met with the council in closed session. Tom Short, city administrator, would not say whether the closed session brought a decision to drop the lawsuit against the plant that converts waste parts from turkeys into biofuels.

"I'm not discussing anything from the closed session," he said.

He referred other questions to David Mouton, city attorney, who did not return telephone calls to his office and home on Wednesday.

State law gives governments up to 72 hours to disclose actions taken in closed session.

Carthage officials in April 2005 joined with the attorney general's office in filing a lawsuit asking the court to order the company to resolve odor problems from the plant, or order it shut down as a public nuisance.

Then in January, the state filed its own lawsuit to seek penalties for past odor violations, based on citations from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. That suit was settled in June, when RES agreed to pay $100,000 in civil penalties, plus $25,000 for any future odor violations over the next two years.

Tricia Orr, who lives north of Carthage and the plant, said Wednesday that she hopes the city lawsuit is not dropped. She has been a frequent critic of RES.

"The odor situation is much, much improved, but there are a few times that I've smelled it," she said. "I'm terrified that if the city drops its lawsuit, the company will go back to operating like they were and creating such an odor. It's been pleasant to be outside this summer."

Orr said her primary concern "is that the city lawsuit is the only leverage we have left to keep them operating without significant odor."

"I don't think they're afraid of DNR (Department of Natural Resources), so this is the last thing they've got hanging over their heads," she said.

Orr said the situation is vastly improved from earlier. She said she had called to complain about odors "a few times" in recent months, and that there were other times she did not call "because I would smell something, but it would dissipate quickly."

Sixteen complaints about odors in Carthage have been reported to the DNR since July 1, according to Mark Rader, of the agency's Springfield office.

He said the most recent complaints were called in Monday by residents who said they smelled odors over the weekend. In most cases, callers have cited RES as the odor source.

Rader said none of the 16 complaints prompted notices of violation from the state, and that some of the odors were traced to operations other than RES.

The $100,000 penalty to which RES agreed in settling the state lawsuit was paid in late June, according to John Fougere, a spokesman for the office of Attorney General Jay Nixon.

The judgment called for $175,000 in civil penalties, with the remaining $75,000 suspended. The amount was deferred and would have to be paid if the plant is charged with additional violations of Missouri air-conservation law during the next two years.

RES was cited for six notices of violation under Missouri air-quality laws, the most recent in August 2005.

The plant was shut down under a Dec. 29, 2005, order issued at the direction of Gov. Matt Blunt. It was allowed to reopen and operate under special conditions, which later were lifted to allow the plant to operate in compliance with its permit and other state regulations.

Oil production

RES converts byproducts from the adjacent Butterball turkey plant into biofuels and other materials. The plant is engineered to produce up to 500 barrels a day at full capacity, according to a statement from the company.